IHOP IP, LLC et al v. International House of Prayer et al

Filing 52

Consent MOTION for extension of time to Extend Expert Disclosure Deadlines filed by Elizabeth A. Tassi on behalf of IHOP IP, LLC, International House of Pancakes, LLC. Suggestions in opposition/response due by 3/15/2012 unless otherwise directed by the court. (Tassi, Elizabeth)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
IHOP IP, LLC et al.,
Plaintiffs,
vs.
INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PRAYER
et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No.: 4:11-cv-00548-NKL

UNOPPOSED MOTION TO EXTEND EXPERT DISCLOSURE DEADLINES
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(b) and Local Rule 16.3, plaintiffs IHOP IP,
LLC and International House of Pancakes, LLC (collectively "IHOP") move the Court for a sixty
(60) day extension of time for the parties to designate expert witnesses (this extension would not
affect any other deadlines). In support of its motion, IHOP states:
1.

IHOP's expert witness designations are currently due on May 30, 2012 and

defendants' expert witness designations are currently due on June 29, 2012.
2.

IHOP respectfully requests a sixty-day extension of time of the expert witness

designation deadlines and, accordingly, proposes the following amended Section C(2) of the
Court's Scheduling Order [Doc. 31]:
Expert designations and depositions will be as follows:
a.
On or before July 30, 2012, Plaintiffs will designate any expert
witness they intend to call at trial. This includes any person who may present
evidence under Rules 702, 703 or 705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence.
b.
On or before August 29, 2012, Defendants will designate any
expert witness they intend to call at trial. This includes any person who may
present evidence under Rules 702, 703 or 705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence.
c.
On or before October 31, 2012¸all depositions of expert witnesses
will be completed. [This deadline is unchanged].

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3.

Counsel for IHOP has consulted with counsel for defendants, Keith Grady, and

counsel for defendants has consented to the requested extension and proposed amendment to the
Scheduling Order.
4.

This extension is requested for good cause as the parties have been and are

currently engaged in diligent, good faith settlement discussions. These discussions have taken
the form of complex written settlement proposals, exchanged between the parties six times over
the last three months, that address the respective rights and obligations of the parties in using
trademarks to brand the goods and services offered by their international organizations in a
number of ways, including in print, electronic, audio/visual, signage, advertising, and other
promotional media. An additional sixty days will permit the parties to continue to focus on their
negotiations for the next several weeks without having to simultaneously expend resources on
expert witnesses and obtaining supporting evidence.
5.

There has been no previous request for an extension of time with regard to the

expert designation deadlines.
6.

The proposed amendment to the expert designation schedule will not affect any

other deadline set forth in the Court's Scheduling Order, including the October 31, 2012 deadline
for completing all pretrial discovery and expert witness depositions.
7.

This motion for extension of time is not made for any reason other than the

foregoing reasons and is not made for vexation or delay but is made in good faith.
WHEREFORE, IHOP respectfully requests that the Court find good cause for extending
the expert disclosure deadlines and enter an order granting the parties a sixty-day extension of
time, up to and including July 30, 2012 for IHOP to designate its expert witnesses and up to and
including August 29, 2012 for defendants to designate their expert witnesses.

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Respectfully submitted,

/s/Elizabeth A. Tassi
Mark D. Hinderks (MO Bar No. 58124)
Mark M. Iba (MO Bar No. 45452)
Elizabeth A. Tassi (MO Bar No. 59621)
STINSON MORRISON HECKER LLP
1201 Walnut Street, Suite 2900
Kansas City, Missouri 64106
[phone] (telephone)
[phone] (facsimile)
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
IHOP IP, LLC and INTERNATIONAL HOUSE
OF PANCAKES, LLC
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on February 27, 2012, I electronically filed the foregoing with the
Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system, which sent notification of such filing to the
following:
Keith J. Grady
John M. Challis
Karen M. Zelle
POLSINELLI SHUGHART PC
100 S. Fourth Street, Suite 1000
St. Louis, MO 63102
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
Lauren Tucker McCubbin
POLSINELLI SHUGHART PC
120 West 12th Street, Suite 1800
Kansas City, MO 64105
[e-mail]
ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANTS
INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PRAYER,
FRIENDS OF THE BRIDEGROOM, INC.,
SHILOH MINISTRIES, INC. AND MIKE BICKLE
/s/Elizabeth A. Tassi
Attorney for Plaintiffs

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